Herr Arnes Pengar
1919 / 122m - Sweden
Crime, Romance
1.5*/5.0*
Sir Arne's Treasure poster

Watches

July 02, 2021

1.5*/5.0*

Another Swedish silent classic. I've seen quite a few of them these past months, Sir Arne's Treasure is one of the better ones. For such an old film, I was surprised to find so much narrative cohesion. The runtime is still a bit excessive and there are some scenes that could've used some extra edits, but compared to other films from the 1910s, this is pretty slick.

Three Scottish officers murder Sir Arne and his family for his treasure. The only survivor of the attack is Elsalill, who moves to Marstrand to live with her family. The three officers try to plan their escape, but winter is coming, and their way out is frozen shut. They end up in Marstrand too, where one of them hooks up with Marstrand.

The plot isn't all that special and the cinematography is basic, but performances are decent, and the setting adds a lot of atmosphere. The film could and should've been 30 minutes shorter, but there are enough moments where the story picks up again, so it never got too dull to watch.